Accessibility to Minors of Cigarettes from Vending Machines --
Broward County, Florida, 1996

The sale of tobacco products to persons aged 18 years has been
prohibited by law in Florida since October 1992, and since May
1994, a
statewide law in Florida has required retailers or owners of
businesses
that sell cigarettes or other tobacco products to post a
conspicuous sign
stating that tobacco sales to minors are illegal and that proof of
age is
required to purchase tobacco products.* To assess the impact of
these laws
in Broward County (1990 population: 1,255,531) during
February-March 1996,
the Florida Atlantic University Department of Exercise
Science/Wellness
Education conducted studies of vendor compliance with laws enacted
to
prevent minors from gaining access to cigarettes through vending
machines
and to ensure that tobacco vendors comply with the sign statute.
This
report summarizes the findings of the assessment of access to
cigarettes
from vending machines, which indicated that approximately one third
of such
attempts by minors were successful.

The 1995-1996 Beverage License File maintained by the Florida
Department of Business and Professional Regulation was used to
identify
four categories of businesses in Broward County: bars,
hotels/motels,
restaurants, and miscellaneous (e.g., bowling lanes, country clubs,
pool
halls, and amusement centers) (n=1861). A map of the county was
divided
into four equally sized areas; within each of these areas,
approximately
20% of the businesses were randomly selected to produce a total
sample of
373 businesses. Of these 373, a total of 270 were excluded because
they had
no cigarette vending machines on site, had closed, sold only
over-the-counter cigarettes, or were bars that would not admit
persons aged
<21 years. The remaining 103 businesses represented 6% of the 1861 county total and constituted 64 (14%) of the 466 bars, five (5%) of the 95 hotels/motels, 27 (2%) of the 1218 restaurants, and seven (9%) of the 82 miscellaneous businesses. The assessment employed seven teams of volunteers, each comprising one minor and one adult; five of the minors were female (ages 12 years {one}, 15 years {two}, and 17 years {two}), and six were male (ages 13 years {two}, 15 years {two}, 16 years {one}, and 17 years {one}).

One purchase attempt was made at each of the 103 businesses.
Purchase
attempts used the following procedure (1): the adult member of the
team
entered the business first to note the presence of any clearly
displayed
signs stating that tobacco products would not be sold to minors.
The adult
then observed while the minor entered and attempted to obtain
change from a
vendor to use in a cigarette vending machine. If no vendor was
present, the
minor went directly to a vending machine to mimic purchase of
cigarettes.
The attempt was considered successful if the minor received change
for
purchasing cigarettes and was able to insert money into a cigarette
vending
machine and press the coin return without interference. The attempt
was
considered unsuccessful if the minor was refused change, prevented
from
inserting money in a cigarette vending machine, or asked for age
verification and denied change for purchasing cigarettes. The adult
member
noted the vendor's reasons for refusal at the time of the request
for
change; when no refusal reason was provided to the minor, the adult
team
member waited until the minor had departed and asked the vendor
about the
reason for refusal. Significance testing was performed using
Pearson
chi-square tests.

Overall, attempts by minors to obtain cigarettes from vending
machines
were successful in 34 (33%) of the 103 business sites
(Table_1); 30
(88%) of these successes occurred after the minor received change
from the
vendor. At four businesses, a vendor was absent, and minors went
directly
to the vending machines. Twenty-five (74%) of the businesses and
purchase
attempts were within a radius of one half mile of an elementary,
middle, or
high school. Overall, success rates were similar among those aged
<17 years and aged 17 years (35% {95% confidence interval (CI)="+/-11%}" versus 28% {95% CI="+/-17%});" however, the rate was higher for females than males (24 {45% (95% CI="+/-14%)}" of 53 attempts versus 10 {20% (95% CI="+/-12%)}" of 50 attempts). Success rates were similar for each category of business, including 21 (33% {95% CI="+/-12%})" bars, two (40% {95% CI="+/-68%})" hotels/motels, eight (30% {95% CI="+/-18%})" restaurants, and three (43% {95% CI="+/-43%})" other businesses. Warning signs provided by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation were posted and clearly visible in 84 (82%) of the 103 businesses; however, success rates were similar in businesses with and without signs (30 {36% (95% CI="+/-11%)}" of 84 versus four {21% (95% CI="+/-20%)}" of 19, respectively).

Reasons specified by the vendors for the 69 unsuccessful
attempts were
that the minor had no proper identification (41 {59%}), the minor
appeared
to be underaged (16 {23%}), and the sale of cigarettes to minors
was
illegal (nine {13%}); other reasons accounted for three
unsuccessful
attempts.

Editorial Note

Editorial Note: The assessment in Broward County indicates that,
despite
the enactment of state laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco
products to
persons aged <18 years, approximately 33% of minors aged 12-17 years were successful in attempts to purchase cigarettes from vending machines. These success rates were lower than those reported in surveys conducted in Massachusetts and Minnesota (86% and 42%, respectively) (2,3). Study design differences (i.e., in the Florida study and one other study {1}, minors requested change from vendors before mimicking purchases at vending machines) may have contributed to these discrepancies, and both studies may have underestimated the ease of cigarette access. If minors had gone directly to the vending machine, they might have been more successful.

The findings in this report are subject to at least one
limitation.
Data were obtained from the files of the Florida Department of
Business and
Professional Regulation for only four types of businesses because
cigarette
vending machines were most likely to be present on the premises of
these
businesses. Although businesses included in the analysis probably
do not
differ from businesses in other categories that were not included,
it could
not be determined whether purchasing cigarettes from vending
machines at
businesses that were not surveyed would have been more difficult.

The findings of this assessment will be used locally to educate
the
public and the business community about the need to support local,
state,
and federal laws restricting the sale of tobacco to minors. For
example,
the Synar Amendment requires all states receiving federal funds for
prevention and treatment of substance abuse to have and enforce a
law
prohibiting the sale of tobacco to persons aged <18 years and to reduce the statewide illegal sales rate to less than or equal to 20% over several years ** (4). These findings provide further support for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that, in addition to other provisions aimed at decreasing the appeal of and access to tobacco products by minors, ban vending machines except in facilities where only adults are permitted (5). The effective date for the provision restricting sales through vending machines is August 28, 1997. The FDA rule will further enhance state and local efforts to decrease minors' access to tobacco.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Final
regulations to implement section 1926 of the Public Health
Service Act
regarding the sale and distribution of tobacco products to
individuals
under the age of 18. Federal Register 1996;61:13,1492-500.

Food and Drug Administration. Regulations restricting the sale
and
distribution of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to
protect
children and adolescents -- final rule. Federal Register
1996;61:41,
314-75.

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